We're finally just days away from the NFL season after a long offseason that featured one of the most unique quarterback battles of all time. Plenty of analysts have already made basic predictions on subjects like team record, award winners, and playoff results. In the Browns' case, the majority believe 2025 will be another tough year, though it wouldn't be too surprising to see them beat their Vegas win total of 4.5 wins.
In this article, we'll make some specific, weird predictions about how the upcoming Browns' season will go.
3 weird Browns predictions for the 2025 season
Carson Schwesinger leads the team in tackles
In 2024, Cleveland's leading tackler was safety Grant Delpit with 111 total tackles. Delpit trailed only Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah the year prior, who recorded 101 total tackles en route to his first Pro Bowl selection.
Rookie second-rounder Carson Schwesinger is primed to best Delpit in tackles this year, as he brings tremendous instincts and fundamentals that led to a 7.6 percent missed tackle rate during his final year at UCLA. Additionally, the defense should look more like its 2023 form, leading to more tackles in the second level rather than the secondary.
David Njoku sets a career high in touchdowns
During the five-game regular season stretch with Joe Flacco in 2023, David Njoku averaged 78 yards per game and hauled in four touchdown passes. On top of that, Njoku was Flacco's favorite target in their postseason game in Houston, where he went for 93 yards on 11 targets with another touchdown.
Njoku's current career-high touchdown total is six, set in 2023 to no surprise. While it's possible, and maybe even likely, that Flacco doesn't remain the starter for the entire year, Njoku is set to explode in their games together. He will likely remain heavily in the mix in a potential move to Dillon Gabriel, as the third-round pick worked mostly in the short to intermediate range during the preseason.
The defense doubles its takeaway total from a year ago
After recording 28 takeaways in their 11-win 2023 season, the Browns only managed to get 12 all of last season. Their interception total dropped from 18 to four, partially because teams were throwing less and leading more.
The defense has the talent up front to wreak games, and players behind them like Schwesinger, Denzel Ward, and Greg Newsome are playmakers who can finish the rep. I expect them to look closer to their 2023 form than how they looked last year, leading to a strong increase in takeaways.